Sunsets, Colors, Blisters
by Dear. Dark. Destiny
Summary: In a troubled state of mind, she never expected the one thing she had hated most all of her life to bring her back to life from her dead state. Why was it him? Why not somebody she knew cared for her?
1. Sunsets

**A/N**

**Hello everyone, Caroline here, new story, new plot, new romance. Harry potter belongs to JKR and not me, the story line is mine, but most of the characters are not. Thank you and enjoy reading, and if you enjoyed reading, leave me a little review please. :)**

She walked slowly down the beach with her hands in her dark green cargo pants' pockets slowly. One foot in front of the other, just thinking, no expression painted on her naturally beautiful face. This woman's small, hot pink bikini top accented her toned stomach and nice curves, but she in no way tried to get attention, she just wore the only muggle bathing suit she had. Her long, wavy hair was braided down to her lower back. She squinted against the wind that came in her direction, but sighed at the marvel of this place. A few stray hairs blew in her face, but she didn't mind, they weren't hurting anything.

Muggle beaches were always the most beautiful, and despite the few families that were still there, it was calm and serene, a beautiful sight to see when nothing was going right. A small muggle girl ran out in front of this strange girl to catch a beach ball that had gotten caught by the wind and carried out into the shallow waters of the ocean.

"Mallory! Say you are sorry, love!" the little girl's mother shouted out at her daughter from her cozy embrace with her partner.

"Sorry!" she gasped out quickly, Mallory was to focused on her game with the little boy who the witch assumed was her brother.

The muggle-born witch couldn't help but laugh merrily at the little girl as she skipped away in her small lavender swimsuit with designs of an old fairy tale story mermaid on the front.

With the sunset clear and beautiful in the sky, she sat down on the sandy shore, not caring that her cargo pants would get dirty and wet, not caring that the tide was rolling in, not caring about all the worries that gripped her fragile heart, just marveling in the absolute awesomeness of the closing day, and all her cares melted for just a moment as it came in closer.

"You like the sunset?" said a familiar voice to her left. She didn't turn. Who cares who it was speaking to her like she had known him for ages, she was watching the sunset now, and that was all that mattered, but she did politely answer his attempt at a conversation.

"Very much so. Everything goes away when I see its beauty. I feel free." The whisper came from her lips calmly. She shared a bit more than she had been expecting to with this known stranger, but all her fears were gone, so she simply gave it no thought.

"I know what you mean, I get away from the world for just a moment in time." This smooth, manly voice replied back like sugar to her ears.

"So what brings you to these parts of Europe? What makes you sit by a complete stranger? " she said softly, a bit of a rasp in her usually clear, melodic voice.

"Oh, you're no stranger to me, Hermione Granger." My eyes strayed from the sunset as realisation struck into his blue-grey eyes.

"Malfoy?"

**If you enjoyed that, then please review, i make it my object to review on every ch that I read because it brings joy to the authors eyes, please do the same. I would completely appreciate it and love you forever.**

**REVIEW! :)))**

**Happy writings**

**Caroline**


	2. Colors

**A/N**

**I tried to get this one in ASAP just in case anybody was interested in what I was writing. :)**

**Disclaimer, you know the drill. JKR owns it.**

Hermione was stuck in her mind, thinking about Malfoy. It had been so easy to just get up an walk away.

"_Malfoy?" she gasped in an unbelieving tone._

"_Yes, Granger?" he replied, giving her a small smirk as she just stared at him._

_It took her a few moments to come to her senses, but when her mind was clear, she jumped up from her secluded spot and left him sitting there, looking after her as if in a daze, confused and a little bit hurt._

They were not friends, so why would he feel anything about the way she had treated him? Just leaving without saying goodbye was something Hermione had grown a habit out of doing, which ended in turning people away, so she was usually a loner.

Though all she thought she needed was her books and her thoughts, she was missing a whole lot more out of life that she needed more than just a book.

Hermione knew that she was broken beyond repair and she also knew that any guy who would come along and maybe try to fix it would only make it worse, so books and thoughts ruled out life.

In a time like this, Hermione would usually go to her study and paint. It made her mind feel at ease and not so lost. Her photographic memory allowed her to see something and be able to paint it free handed. The vibrant colors almost made her happy, and almost made her forget when _he_ did to her.

Hermione, now only wearing a nightshirt, began letting her heart paint, muggle colors and paint sets were a whole lot more fulfilling than using her wand. She closed her eyes and just painted in memories of the sunset, the feeling of happiness she felt while watching it, and the nothingness that made her mind an empty playing field of almost joy.

It took her three hours with her eyes closed, and when she opened them again, she saw the sunset that she had seen at the muggle beach exactly the way she saw it in her mind. Her eyes scanned down to the ocean that was underneath the beginnings of a night sky and saw the waves gently rolling in, and then her eyes landed on the shore. There she was with her cargo pants and pink bikini top with her arms reaching back behind her in support, her long braid scraping the sand, but right next to her was someone that she had seen just earlier today…Draco Malfoy and his pale complexion, toned muscles, and bleach blonde, untidy hair. She hadn't expected him to be in the picture, and not like that either. He looked perfect, so unlike she remembered him, so _different_ from his snobby, higher-than-you façade.

But she didn't want _him_ to be in her memory, she didn't want him to cloud her precious art that had become her life, and she didn't want him, to be so beautiful, so stunning in this interpretation. She hadn't even gotten a good look at him while at the beach, just a glimpse as she turned her head realizing that she knew him.

Hermione walked slowly out to her small balcony looking down towards the ocean and saw him still sitting there. What could he be doing? The sunset was over and it was too dark to see much, but Draco Malfoy still sat there, eyes grazing the horizon, thinking.

* * *

_She remembered me, then walked away. I guess I didn't make a very good impression back in school, me, the Slytherin bad boy, breaker of hearts, crusher of dreams. _Draco thought sadly to himself, still looking out into the ocean, though all he could see was the glint of the moon on the gentle waves crashing against some rocks a hundred feet out.

He could sense someone watching him from behind, but he stayed put, not caring what the person watching him would think. He himself didn't even know what he was thinking. The ocean was barely visible in the dark night sky, with just a sliver of the moon poking out, bringing little to no light, so why was he there? Why was he sitting in the damp sand, doing nothing? And what had happened to Hermione? Why was she so different than what he remembered in his mind? She was beautiful, with no makeup, and no struggle to make herself look the part, but her eyes showed something different, something Draco had never seen in another girls eyes before.

He shook his had and knitted his eyebrows together before he got up and dusted off his back side. He did not care about her, she was a stupid little mudblood who did not deserve his thoughts. Why would he even ponder the thought of her being beautiful, why would he even practice the thought of being her friend?

Why? Because no matter how much he tried to push it away, not think of her or care what happened with her, he knew that the only reason he thought such bad things was because he secretly loved her, but knew he could never even think of Hermione Granger being his. Preposterous. Absolutely preposterous.

But then why did he want her?

Because of these mixed emotions, hate flared up inside and when he was safely tucked away from anymore muggles, he shot sparks out of his wand at the picture of Luscious Malfoy pinned up on the higher part of his green and silver walls of his room in Malfoy Manor. When things went wrong, he blamed it all on his dad. Stupid father who never really cared for him, yet pretended to. The same father who was now in Azkaban, certainly to perish the rest of his days till the dementors sucked every bit of life out of his weak soul.

_He can die for all I care._ His thoughts were angry and spiteful, and he wished he could kill something, so he grabbed his wand and shot angry white lights towards a stuffed snake his Aunt had gotten him before she died and cut it open, and the stuffing oozed out as if it had melted, but he simply did not care, for he never loved his Aunt, nor her cheap muggle presents.

* * *

A single blister formed on the tip of Hermione's forefinger, and she winced, confused at how it had gotten there. It was filled with something different than the water you would usually find in an irritated spot like this on, instead of that, it seemed to be filled with something white and, and hot, because it burned her.

Hermione took her wand and opened the blister with a medical spell she had learned in her seventh year at Hogwarts. Out of the wound came something white and fluffy, like something you would find in a stuffed animal in the Muggle World. This is the strangest thing she had ever seen since she had been a Fifth Year at Hogwarts, and she had never read about fluffy blisters in any of the books that ever went into her mind!

_What the hell? Do I need to see a doctor about this? Do some research?_ She thought to herself, still on the balcony, she took one last look down on the beach where Malfoy was sitting, but he wasn't there anymore. She had let her eyes wander, and now he was gone. He probably had disapparated while she was looking at the horizons.

_Get out of my head, Malfoy! Get out, get out, get out!_ She thought inwardly, squinting and hitting the part of the palm closest to the wrist against her temple, trying unsuccessfully to cleanse her thoughts of Draco Malfoy. But she couldn't stop thinking of him and the big blister that kept oozing stuffing.

To keep her mind of the strange anomaly, she pulled her eyes back to the painting, the vibrant colours, the sweet orange of the sand that she had felt through her toes, the beautiful body that sat next to her, beautiful and muscular, a real life Hercu—

What was she thinking? She could never ponder him in that way, unless she wanted to get hurt again…like last time. And just the simplest thoughts of "the last time" were enough to bring Hermione to tears, as she climbed back into her canopy bed to at least try to sleep, but now that she was thinking about both of them, the sweet release of sleep would not come to her easily.

* * *

Draco Malfoy climbed into his green and silver, four poster bed and fell instantly asleep. While he slept, a small blister formed at the base of his neck and he scratched at it, opening it up a bit and out came a fluid in the form of tear drops.

**A/N**

**Hallooo! I hope you enjoyed that chappie. I got reviews saying that they like how H and D are already on first name basis, that was the first chapter where they were astonished to see each other at the beach and Hermione didn't know that it was him, so in her astonishment, she just said the first thing that came out of her mouth. Just wanted to clear that up ****but they will have first names very soon.**

**REVIEW PLEASE! And if you could, just tell some people who lik Dramione stories ****thank you very much.**

**Happy writings**

**Caroline**


	3. What?

**A/N**

**Helloo! I hope more people see and read this story, it would be sad if nobody sawwwww it :/**

**Oh, and I know on the last chappie, I completely botched it! Its Lucius, not luscious! Haha, sorry loves, I didn't mean it that way. Thank you for pointing it out BeTheRonToMyHermione. Very gracious of you to point out the elephant in the room :)))) **

**Disclaimer: anything you recognize isn't mine.**

"Wake up, wake up Master Draco, Master is going to be late for work! Hurry hurry, sir, Blinky has breakfast for Master Draco." One of their house elves woke him up, but it was an unwelcome disturbance, for he wanted to sleep in and skip work all together, he didn't like working at the ministry, they were the cause of most things wrong in the Wizarding world today, and Kinsley, the Minister of Magic, couldn't do much about it.

"Go away, Blinky." Draco moaned, still terribly tired, and annoyed with his sweet, but buggish little friend, and because she was a house elf, she had to leave.

"Yes, Master Draco, but Mistress need Master Draco downstairs immediately, and there is something on Master Draco's neck, sir." Blinky replied, as she backed out of the room.

Draco sat up, his hair in a mess, and his eyes casting dark shadows around the room. He slapped his neck as if there were a bug there and winced as his hand hi the blister that had formed last night while he slumbered. It broke open again, and the same form of a tear drop came out, and as Draco saw it, his eyebrows crinkled in confusion.

What would he have done to get a blister on his _neck_? On his hands, sure, he did have to write a lot at the Ministry, but… his neck? It made simply no sense. This oddity woke him up completely that he had no hopes of going back to sleep, so he trudged to his dresser and started getting himself ready for the day, and for the…talk…with his mother.

* * *

Hermione had fallen into a sort of sleep that she could sense everything around her, so it was not the most restful of nights. Her hair was in a frizzed mess from the restlessness and tossing and turning she experienced throughout the night, and the circles of blue underneath her eyes looked dreadful.

In despite of the lack of sleep, she got up and dressed, putting her long tresses in the same long braid that she always wore, for her day to work at the Translation Offices in a building that was part of the Ministry, but set in a different location.

Hermione loved what she did, for it kept her mind off everything else, because when she put her total mind on something completely, she only thought of that one thing, and her mind was a blur to other things.

After finishing all her needed essentials of her morning routine, Hermione grabbed her Robes, and the embroided, cloth knapsack Harry and Ginny had given for her birthday a few months ago.

Harry and Ginny. The happy couple… married together, completely in love… and just complete in general. Ginny was pregnant with their first child, and Harry is living out his dream of becoming an Auror. He and Ron had always had that as their dream.

Ron… whoever the hell knows what he's doing…but then again, whoever the hell cares?

Harry didn't know what had happened, and neither did Ginny, because she was sure that nothing good would come of it. Hermione hadn't told anyone… so she kept it in her mind, and it stayed there.

A long time ago, when she was eight, Hermione found out that her Uncle—with whom she was extremely close to—had died, and she was completely heartbroken, but did not tell anyone. She became momentarily insane at some points and would cry in random places, so her mother took her to a psychologist to maybe help her daughter out a bit with this problem.

_The psychologist, named Susan, looked at her and smiled a reassuring smile. She wore a black pantsuit and her hair was tied in a loose bun, she had a friendly face, but Hermione was shy. _

_Hermione was not necessarily scared of this lady that she had never met before, but she didn't know what to expect, and she didn't want to be there, her mother had had to get back to work, and her father was going to pick her up in an hour, so she had nothing to do other than to stay and face this lady and talk._

"_So, what's your name, dear?" Susan asked with a smile, already knowing Hermione's name, but wanted her to speak._

"_Hermione Granger…and yours?" she didn't know if this was the right thing to ask, but did it anyway._

"_Susan Pottsburn, and I am here to help you."_

_I nodded my head in a way of saying: 'I understand that, but it doesn't change much'._

"_Now, first things first, I would like you to tell me what you have on your mind right now, I want you to open up to me, tell me everything so I can help." She said, clutching her clipboard to her chest as she bent down to meet me eyelevel in my seat._

"_I don't get this place and I don't want to be here, but I think the reason I am here is because my mind hurts sometimes… and I miss my Uncle." Hermione was reluctant at first, but felt herself open up a bit to this strange lady, not enough to want to be her friend, but enough to let Susan help her._

_The conversation went on a little bit more until Dr. Susan said something that would stick with Hermione the rest of her life._

"_Always tell someone what's going on in your life. Whether it's a good thing, or a bad thing, tell _someone_ what it is, because opening up is the first step to healing."_

And Hermione was really quite good at doing so, until _this_ came along, and she couldn't find it in her to tell anyone. Even though it ate at her mind, she still couldn't tell.

* * *

Draco made his way downstairs, careful not to step on the twenty-third step coming down, for it made the person stepping on it fall and most likely break something.

"Draco, darling, come sit, I must tell you something." Draco winced as he came down the stairs, sitting in the armchair next to his mother.

"Don't call me darling." He said, annoyed by his mother's lack of sympathy for calling him such an unruly name.

Narcissa waved him off and started talking again.

"Your father, as you know, is in Azkaban…for…" grimace "…being a deatheater. But I have good news." Draco's mother was practically giddy with excitement. "He is to be coming home in the next couple of weeks and we are moving out. Because you are now an adult, you have the option of staying here and owning Malfoy Manor, or you can come with us. It's your choice Draco, darling." Draco Malfoy did not even care that she had used on of his hated names, everything other than "we are moving, you have the option of staying" was blocked out of his ears.

He struggle do keep composure, but the grin on his face told his mother everything.

_They are moving, I am staying! _He thought in pure ecstasy.

"I'll take that as a yes, then? Alright. We will leave then, when he comes back. Now off you go, you have work today, don't you?" she shooed him on, and with a big grin still plastered on his face, he disapparated to the Ministry.

DDDDDDDD

Draco made it to his office exactly on time, and he looked appraisingly at the sign magicked on the door:

FIRST OFFICIAL ASSISTANT TO THE MINISTER

He prided himself in those six words. Draco inspected the offices, helped the Minister on decisions, and did a lot of other things that the Minister needed. He was the second highest up in the whole Ministry. In the United States, he would be considered the 'Vice President'.

When Draco was in his office, a flying memo in the shape of a paper airplane came in and tapped him on the shoulder. He opened it up and read his agenda for the day.

_From the Minister:_

_Go to the Translations Office building in Wales and inspect._

_Come back with the correctly formatted parchment for building 225, Ministry of Magic._

_Kinsley Shaklebolt_

_Minister of Magic_

_Main Office_

_Ministry of Magic_

He had only been to the Translations office once before, so he knew what to expect. Boring elderly wizards and witches reading books all day and translating them into the correct language format needed.

_Just one of those easy days, I guess. _Draco thought.

* * *

Hermione arrived at the office ten minutes early as usual. She helloed everyone in a friendly gesture and sat down in her rather large office to start.

For her first order of business, she had to decode an old Arabic Dictionary to French. The Beauxbatons girls were studying Arabia and needed their books in their language.

She deciphered what the front cover said first:

_Dictionnaire de Liturature _

_Appendre est beaucoup de grand chose…_

Dictionary of Literature

To learn is a many great thing…

Hermione loved dictionaries, they were filled with such wonder, and to translate one to the beautiful language of French, the language of love, was enthralling.

It took her three hours to finish, and by the time she was done, Hermione wanted to keep it up, knowing that the other books she translated today would probably not be in French.

While turning her book into the 'finished' slot to have her work checked and graded, a crack sounded, frightening her and making her fall.

Hermione turned around and saw a familiar sneering face in front of her.

"Oh…hello there." Draco said awkwardly, but with enough confidence to make Hermione blush.

"What is it you want, Malfoy?" she asked stubbornly. Draco seemed surprised by this, his eyes opening wide.

"Well! They didn't tell you? I'm in for inspection today, I am the executive assistant to the minister, you know." Draco smirked, tugging at the collar of his robes in a prideful manor.

Hermione looked at him with a blank look saying: 'and I care…?' while he gave her one back saying: 'well you should'.

"Look Malfoy, I'm really busy, you can get to your inspecting, just don't bother me, 'kay? 'Kay." And with that, she turned her back on him and walked back to her office area.

A small blister popped up on each of their ears, on Hermione's lobe, and on Draco's cartilage.

Each one winced from different sides of the building and something changed in Draco, making him furrow his brows and suddenly dart toward where Hermione had gone.

He was confused at why this sudden urge to talk to her would spring up so violently and claw at him to speak to her again, hear her melodic voice, see her angelic face again.

Hermione was about to sit back down at her desk again, when she heard something that she thought would never touch her delicate ears.

"Would you do me the honor of joining me for a cup of Joe when you get off?" it escaped Draco's lips so easily, almost naturally. Not knowing what came over him, he blushed, wanting so badly to see her again.

"Did _Draco Malfoy_ just say what I think he said?" Hermione was just as astonished as he was.

"Yes? I think so. So would you?"

Hermione pursed her lips and looked down at her mahogany desk, then willed her eyes to look right into his and nodded slowly.

Draco let out a sigh of relief, confused to why she said yes and why he asked.

"I get off at three." She told him, her voice the tiniest bit shaky.

"Perfect."

**A/N**

**I got it up! IT'S HERE FINALLY! Oh yeah, like you care! :D**

**It was really hard to write believe it or not.**

**I just wanted to let you all know that I am not opposed to Constructive Criticism…did I make a mistake? Was it too much? Too little? Just tell me, I will be happy to have your thoughts and ideas.**

**So I think the song for this chapter would have to be Pins and Needles by Billy Talent. A lot of it is good for this.**

**READ AND REVIEW PLEASE! I BEG THAT YOU WOULD! It would make me veeeeery happpppy! :D**

**Happy writings**

**Caroline**


	4. Coffee

**A/N**

**Heyo! Sorry I haven't been able to update…I have not been able to have internet…which doesn't help when I'm trying to go on Fan Fiction. :)))**

**PLEASE OH PLEASE WON'T YOU FORGIVE ME! We are at the beach in Matagorda right now…most of you probably have no idea where the heck that is…well lemme just tell you its in TEXAS oh TEXAS, all hail the mighty state **

**Just a bit about me ^^**

**Disclaimer and all that junk. Here it goes!**

Hermione frantically got ready at 2:50 in her building's bathroom. She didn't really carry makeup with her, so she had to accio it over to her building. Her hair was in a braid again, and she didn't really know what to do with it, so she took it out and found the locks wavy and almost perfect.

She didn't know why she wanted to impress him so badly, a few hours ago she wouldn't have cared what the hell he thought, but now, it was like something had sparked inside of her and she was almost visibly glowing. Nothing had made Hermione feel this way before, not even Ron, and she barely knew him more than what she had seen at school.

A friendly witch a few cubicles away from hers came up behind her in the mirror and offered to help, saying that her Muggle job was going to be cosmetology.

Hermione didn't want a lot of makeup on, and the little witch, named Albetta, was glad to do just that.

The difference of before Hermione and after Hermione was splendid. She looked stunning with only a little bit on.

_It's amazing what just a bit of eyeliner, mascara, and some plum colored eye shadow can do. _She thought, flabbergasted at the beautiful witch that reflected herself in the mirror.

"Thank you so much." Hermione said to the Albetta, taking her hands and hugging the little, old witch tightly, but also very gently. "I'll find some way to repay you, I promise."

"Oh, don't worry about it dear, just sometime on break, visit me in my office! I would love your company." Albetta replied with a smile.

"I will. I'll bring lunch sometime, and we can talk!" Hermione felt a deep affection for this witch, and she knew that she would grow to love her, like she loved her mother before she died.

"I'd like that, Hermione." Albetta replied as Hermione walked out of the bathroom door and apparated to where Draco had said to meet him.

* * *

Draco raced to get ready, wanting to impress her like she wanted the same, though he did not know it.

His job had ended twenty minutes earlier than he had expected it, so he apparated home and started getting ready with fresh cologne, a clean shave, and a pair of muggle jeans, with button down blue shirt.

Looking at the clock in his room, he realized that if he didn't leave now, he'd be late, so Draco transfigured the broken parts of the snake, still in his room, into a bouquet of dark crimson roses. He didn't know what flower she liked best, but he figured that roses would satisfy. All girls like roses, right?

With his hair in a styled mess—**making him look sexily dreamy, if I might add ;D**—he apparated to the little coffee shop where he found Hermione walking in, looking amazingly gorgeous in her dark blue, satin blouse that complimented her skinand tight skinny jeans. Her hair seemed silky and not at all like it did back in school. It rolled down her back in gentle waves, just kissing her hips.

"Gra—Hermione!" Draco called out so she would see him.

She breathed out a sigh of relief, he had not forgotten after all. "Draco." She said with a half grin.

Hermione looked him over and saw that he was absolutely beautiful. The shirt he was wearing made his eyes—burning into hers—pop, and his hair was that messy rugged look that made him like an innocent boy, but yet a man all the same. The flowers in his hands didn't fit with the outfit though, and Hermione doubted that they were for him.

Draco saw her looking at the roses he held in his hands and he awkwardly shoved them out towards here, embarrassed he hadn't done it sooner.

"Here…these are for you." A faint blush coloured his cheekbones, and that made Hermione's turn the same colour.

"Uhh…thanks." She said with a sheepish grin. Why did he make her feel like this? She wasn't supposed to like him, the two puzzle pieces weren't supposed to fit!

Draco nodded his head and opened the door for her.

The muggle coffee shop, known as Starbucks, was almost completely empty except for two elderly ladies reading Pride and Prejudice. It was a cozy place with music from the fifties playing. Hermione hadn't gotten much sleep the night before so the interior made her feel a bit lazy.

The couple found a little corner with two comfy arm chairs facing each other with a glass coffee table in between them, and sat down.

"What do you want? I'm paying, put that away." Draco said as Hermione reached into the small purse she carried for money.

"Are you sure…?" she asked and he made a face as if to say 'yes, just let me handle this'. "OK, I'll have one of those Double Chocolate Chip Fraps…Grande…with extra chocolate chips and chocolate syrup." And when she saw the look on his face, she added: "yes, I am one of those chocolate people."

Draco laughed and went to the counter to order and pay.

"Grande Double Chocolate Chip Frap with extra chocolate chips and syrup, and a Grande Coffee, black. Thanks." He sounded as if he knew what he was doing and he was sure of himself. Draco's voice was the creamy and amazing to Hermione and she caught herself just staring at his back. His hair, his blue tee-shirt, his…nice ass…

She turned her head away, knowing she shouldn't be thinking like that and he walked towards her with their drinks, setting them down on the little coffee table.

Hermione looked into his soft eyes, once hardened, but now soft, and cocked her head to the side in thought.

"Draco…what…what made you turn…" she wracked her brain for the correct word to use. "…turn…good?" after she said it, Hermione started wondering if it was maybe too personal a question for their first 'date'.

His eyebrows furrowed in deep concentration, thinking hard on the subject this intriguing girl had brought up.

"I don't really know, truthfully. You remember during the war in the Room of Requirement when you saved me from death?" she nodded her confirmation. "Well, it changed something in me, I guess… I am ashamed of my past, Hermione, truly I am." The anguish on his face was clear and Hermione felt so sad for him she had the urge to grab his hand.

Draco stopped talking and looked at the hand that now held his confused, making Hermione blush slightly.

He turned his head momentarily, then set his eyes back on their hands and pulled his out of her grasp.

"What are you doing?" he asked her, anger hinting to show itself. This astonished Hermione, making her form her lips in the shape of a little o in surprise.

"I—I'm sorry. I just—I thought…" she stuttered, hanging her head. "I didn't mean to. You looked so sad…I just wanted you to… be happy. I'm sorry for even asking you that." She was ashamed for asking such an intrusive question without knowing him much.

Draco Malfoy took a long sip of his black coffee, anger still etched in his brows as he set his cup down. Hermione did the same thing with her drink, replacing the anger for a scared child.

"I have to go." He whispered, still cross, and he left her sitting there in her seat like a foolish child, to dumb to understand anything.

* * *

Draco shook his head in regret when he was safely hidden inside his room. Why had he just ruined things like that? What had come over him? He asked the same question to himself for every little bad thing that went wrong in his life.

She had just held his hand! Nothing more than that, and he got infuriated anyway!

A tiny blemish formed in his rant on his forearm and the filling this time was black. He didn't notice it, and he probably wouldn't ever notice it, because of the mark that scarred his past, present, and arm.

Hermione disapparated herself back to her cozy, yet lonely, two story condo and started crying.

She gently rocked herself to sleep, sobbing and wondering why she cared about him so much, when he had put her through so much pain as a child.

The same blemish as Draco formed on Hermione's forearm as well, but she did not see it because sleep consumed her tortured thoughts and let her drift away from the pain she felt at that moment.

**A/N**

**Hey guyzzzz…I'm trying super hard to make the chappies longer, but it was so hard to write this one. You know ever chapter I wing it? I mean I have an idea of what to write, but I don't really know, you know? Well I hope you enjoyed it.**

**IF YOU DID ENJOY IT, READ AND REVIEW! THANK YOU SO MUCH TO THOSE THAT DO! ****Ciao **

**Happy writings**

**Caroline **


	5. Important

**A/N**

**Dear readers, this is very important. **

**I am so sorry for the confusion of the chapters. I put spacers in them to sort out which was Hermione's thoughts and which was Draco's, but it got lost along the way. I am so sorry that I had to do an author's note, but it had to be done so I could explain.**

**And any confusion you may have… this is not a normal story and nothing in it is supposed to be natural. The blisters are far from natural, and they make them feel different and abnormal. I will talk more about the blisters in later chapters, but they are really important to the story, so PLEASE PLEASE PLEEEEASE, if you find it hard to understand or something, please just keep reading and I will hope to explain it better. I had help from **_**Boogum **_**with betaing it, so thank you **_**Boogum**_**. You guys should really check out her stories (she had like a thousand) they are absolutely amazing. Not joking! :D**

**So I hope you forgive me for my screw-up and I will try and keep it right from now on. If you have any questions or constructive criticism (CCs) then just tell me and I can probably work it out…I mean I AM the author, am I not?**

**Happy writings and next chappie will be up soon.**

**Caroline **


	6. Drunk

A/N

**Hey! Me again. I hope you know that I am putting up a lot of love for you guys because I am up late when I should be sleeping because I have a really early start tomorrow. So BE HAPPY! And BE GRATEFUL! Or else. **

**I just wanna thank those of you who read the authors notes.**

**AND I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO THANK THE ONES WHO READ AND ****REVIEWD!**** And those of you who don't…well poop on you. Literally. Poop will come flying out of the air wherever you are and land on your head. It will be gross. So review.**

**Disclaimer and all that jazzzz.**

**REVIEW!**

She looked at the clock and sighed. 6:05pm and the sun was still up. Her sunset from would not be seen for another hour, and she was having painter's block.

Hermione's paintbrush moved all over the canvas, but nothing she imagined came out of the colors she stroked on there. Everything turned out to be something to remind her of _him. _No, not _him _him, but _him._ Draco. Ron was the farthest thing from her mind at the moment.

There were now at least ten angry, red blisters all over her body, and she did not know why. She hadn't done anything to get them, and it was as if they had just appeared out of nowhere. Also, they were not like regular blisters. Each one had something different in it, like two of them had some sort of black water that looked like coffee, and the first one had white fluff in it. Nothing in her life made sense at the moment.

Yesterday had been a perfect disaster. She had asked the wrong questions. He had reacted the wrong way, and yet…she still felt attracted to him, and she wanted to make things right, but she had no idea how to do any of it. Hermione's life had been all about books and grades, and people had always cut her down, so she never had much experience dealing with things like this.

So she tried to paint to get her mind working better, but nothing right came out. Paint then erase. Paint then erase. Over and over again. And so she gave up. Hermione was usually one to fight till the end, but nothing was making sense, and she didn't want all the trouble, so she just stopped, turning towards the French doors, opened to the sunset that was just starting to fall behind the clouds as the sun said goodnight.

Hermione sighed gratefully at the beautiful majesty of it, knowing that if she could just keep her mind on this, she would close her eyes and be happy tonight. And if she were to die, then she would go with a peaceful smile gracing her lips.

But unfortunately, sunsets don't last long, and the colours that spun around the sun, waiting for it to go down, were now gone.

Hermione tried to go to sleep that night, but the two men in her life that had hurt her nagged at her brain. Drinking always made things stop. Drinking made her mind go fuzzy and her head clear…but it also had a tendency of making her drunk. She didn't like getting drunk because it reminded her of what had happened, but when you need to drown out your mind, what are you gonna do?

* * *

"Hit me again, Hannah." Hermione sighed, her head down, forcing her glass at the Three Broomsticks' bartender. Hannah looked at her with disapproving eyes as she cleaned out the glass and filled it with more Firewhiskey that had gotten Hermione to this sorry state.

"Hermione, its three o'clock in the morning, don't you want to go home and rest. You've had _a lot_ to drink tonight, don't you think?" a worried expression came across Ms. Abbott's face as Hermione downed another full glass, slamming it down on the counter after doing so.

"No! Never enough!" she shook her head vigorously and held out her glass for another round. It was her eighth, and she was the only customer in the bar.

Hannah let out a breath of hot air as she served her up another, and one more after that.

After ten glasses of Firewhiskey, Hermione was as drunk as she had ever been in her whole life, and walking out of the bar was no easy task.

"…And the whole world will know he is dead…yeeeeeeeeeessssssss we live in a world where the snake is gone, he used to be here, but now, yes he's gone. No woe in the world so dark as before, then when old Voldy would knock on their dooooooooooor!" she sang loudly and off-key to a song some drunken bastard had made a few weeks after the war was over. Her walking was swayed and she couldn't see where she was going, yet she kept walking. The cold night air made the alcohol in her stomach churn, and her person shiver.

Hermione crossed both her arms to keep warmer, and knocked into something solid, yet soft at the same time, and nearly feel back, but thankfully, that something had caught her before she fell onto the icy pavement.

"Oh! Ouch. Wotcher!" her words were slurred and barely able to make out.

"What the _hell_ do you think you are doing, Granger." This voice of the solid object confused her and she stood completely still, thinking. She knew this voice from somewhere…somewhere she wanted to forget.

With blurred vision, Hermione Granger looked into the blue-grey eyes of the man she had been trying to avoid thinking about at all costs, and snow began to fall. It was light at first, but it came more heavily as they talked.

"What'r yooooooou doo-dooin here?" she tried her best to push him with all her might, but only ended up almost falling herself, before he caught her…_again._ Hermione's hair was sprinkled with little flecks of white, and her lashes too, making her look stunning in the moon light, but Draco tried to ignore that thought.

"Oi! You're drunk! Why the hell are you drunk?" he was cross with her again. The stupidity of her actions made anger course through his Malfoy veins.

Hermione shook a bit from the frosty cold, for she had no jacket, nor sweater, leaving her arms bear and vulnerable.

"No. I'm nodda drunk. Nooope! You, my frieeeend are theddr… theddr—" her sentence was cut off gradually as she suddenly fell into the snow, unconscious. Her head had smashed against the sidewalk from the fall and a tiny pool of blood from a cut after hitting the icy ground formed, matting her already ratted hair in the thick crimson.

Draco looked at this spectacle in shock, seeing this woman he had been arguing with, unconscious, and bloodied admittedly scared him, and admittedly, the reason he had come out was to drink in the sadness of what he felt for Hermione at the bar as well, but his plans had been drastically changed as he found the woman he would be drinking for, drunk herself at his feet.

Making a rash decision, he scooped her up, minding not the blood that was getting on his white silk shirt, he'd be able to get it off somehow, and proceeded to bringing her back home, but realizing he did not know where she lived, he instead brought her back to Malfoy Manor.

He was breaking many rules that had been in the house for ages, but he did not care, for it was his house now…or it would be soon.

When they made it to the Manor, he took her upstairs to his room and set her down on the green, silk sheets that covered his bed.

The stark contrast of her now pale, sickly skin to his dark green covers was unbearable. She looked pitiful with her matted, brown locks streaked with ugly red. Red hair didn't look good on her, and Draco didn't like to think about one red haired fiend of a woman, for it brought back regretful memories of his former foolish love life.

He called for a house elf to help clean up Hermione's nasty wound, and the house elf, named Tinkle, came to the rescue and cleaned it up in no time.

After the house elf had finished and left, a lethargic yawn escaped from Malfoy's mouth, and he began unbuttoning his bloodied shirt so he could sleep. When the soiled item was removed, he kicked off his shoes, and curled up in the large armchair sitting to the left of the four-poster bed and up against the wall, and fell asleep.

* * *

Hermione woke up the next morning hung-over and with a huge migraine, beating at her skull like a drum. She was confused at where she was, for she did not remember getting here, plus, she did not even know where she was for that matter.

With her eyes still drowsy from sleep, she looked around the room and saw a solid figure to her left, but could not make out who it was. She had to squint her eyes to get them a bit more clear, but could only tell that this figure was a male, and he was sleeping rather uncomfortably it looked like in a green velvet armchair.

Giving up on figuring out who this man was, she flopped her head back down on the foreign pillow and winced. Her head hurt terribly. She reached up a hand and felt the spot that the pain had come from and noticed a small groove that might have been a cut, but she could not remember what it could have come from, for it was fresh. This wound did not help her migraine and neither did this blindness of not knowing where she was or what she had done last night.

A deep yawn came from the figure in the corner, but he did not wake up. Hermione sat back up and looked in his direction, realizing that her vision was clearer, and she could see who the figure was, and what she saw shocked her tremendously.

There, sitting in the chair, was a Malfoy, and not just any Malfoy, but _Draco Malfoy. _And she was on what she thought to be Draco Malfoy's _bed._

Shock and confusion flooded over her as she uneasily hopped off Draco Malfoy's bed and tried to make it to the door, but her legs were wobbly and she couldn't walk, so she fell, right at his feet in a large thump.

Hermione felt vulnerable and helpless, alone and scared, a stranger in a foreign land. She felt as though she could not move, and she was sprawled out in an awkward position. Her feet were twisted together, her right arm was catawampus under her torso, her bottom stuck out slightly in the air and her cheek was smashed up against the floor.

This fall stirred the handsome man sitting right above her, and he looked drowsily around to get his bearings. Draco looked at the figure right under his feet and wrinkled his eyebrows and cocked his head.

"Hermione?" he asked, still drowsy.

Her eyes became quite large, realizing she had been caught. She didn't want to be here and it would have been nice if she could have left in peace, but of course that was not to be the case.

He got up abruptly when he saw her crumpled, once again, at his feet, although this time, she was awake.

"What are you doing? Are you alright?" he seemed very worried, for which she did not know why. Hermione had no answer to his question because she did not want to answer the first one, and she didn't know if she _was_ alright.

"Where am I?" she said, her words snipped.

At first, Draco was confused by the question, but then came back to his senses.

"Uhh…you're—you're in my house…"

"Why?" the question was snide and mocking.

These questions threw Draco off immensely. Why was she questioning his hospitality after what happened last night?

"Well…you passed out drunk…aaaaand I didn't know where you lived, so I brought you here instead…you fell last night and I had a house elf stitch you up…" and as he said this, he realized that Hermione was still at his feet, so he scooped her up as he had the night before and he set her back down on his bed.

She didn't resist, for she was in thought about what he had just said. He had helped her? After all that had happened a few days ago?

"You helped me?" this was softer and sweeter then the previous comments, she felt awful for being so rude.

His eyebrows which had just become unknitted knitted themselves together again. He hesitated a bit, then he nodded one short nod.

"Thank you." From her laying position on his bed, she looked at him, really looked at him for the first time. He had his shirt off and toned muscular body sent chills down her spine. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to fall in love with him after all, but would he want the same?

Whilst Hermione was studying him, Draco was studying her. She was beautiful. Even with her hair in a mess and rings under her eyes from lack of sleep or strain from a headache. How had he never seen the way her brown eyes twinkled even in the small amount of sunlight that drifted into the room from the blinded window?

But she would never think of him this way, would she?

She couldn't.

**A/N**

**This one is a whole lot longer than I had thought it would be, but that's ok! I'm proud of myself! :D**

**So tell me what you think and any confusions you have and please ****REVIEW!**

**It really irks me that when people read they don't have enough time to just shoot me a little note saying what they liked or didn't like! IT'S THE AUTHORS WAY OF LIVING, DON'T YOU KNOW!**

**Anyway, I still would like those who read to keep reading. DON'T BE TURNED AWAY!**

**I love you all **

**Happy writings**

**Caroline**


	7. Love

**A/N**

**This one is gonna be fun, I can just feel the vibe emanating from my finger tips… ooh! You guys are gonna love it, I just know. I. Just. Know. **

_Some people say that change is inevitable…other's say that nothing ever changes, it just shifts a bit… I don't believe the latter. Change _is_ inevitable, whether you like it or not, but it is bound to happen. Will you be able to catch it when it does? _-From Hermione Granger's thoughts.

* * *

They sat over a small table for two, elbows on it, face to face, laughing, talking, and drinking fine red wine old enough to be their great, great grandparents.

"Show it to me! Come on Draco! Show it to me, I really want to see it!" Hermione giggled out, knowing it was a serious topic, but she couldn't contain herself.

"OK…but…I'm not..." he sighed, "I'm not _proud _of it. Any of it. The biggest mistakes of my life I made at Hogwarts, please understand that before I show you." Draco's voice was a grave sort of tipsy. She could tell that he _wasn't _proud of it, but also that he would not object to anything she asked of him. She had him at her power for the first time.

Draco rolled up the sleeve to his unbuttoned black shirt and showed her the gruesome marks of black in the shape of a snake coming out of a skull, but there were also scars. Angry red marks obviously scratched and carved into the part of his arm where the tattoo was lined his skin.

"It…it wouldn't come off. I tried, Mione, I really did. I even used a muggle knife…it didn't work." He looked down, ashamed of himself and Hermione reached out for his arm. She stood up and took about two small steps to get to where Draco was sitting and got down on her knees so her chest was aligned with the table top. She took his arm in her hands and gently caressed it in her hands. What had he done to himself?

She knitted her brows together in frustration and stroked the angry red marks with her thumb. He did not jerk away, he just stared at her hands touching his arms with a blank yet sensitive expression on his perfectly chiseled face.

Hermione bent her head down and kissed the scars, they were hot from so much blood circulating through them. She brought her lips down on it again and again, tracing all the way up to his shoulder that was covered by thin cloth so she pushed the clothing aside and kept pecking up to his jaw. She whispered in his ear, "I know." She could feel the goose bumps forming all over his body and she smiled briefly then brought her lips to his.

Draco was startled at first, but sort of knew it was coming, so he kissed her back. He pulled her into a tight embrace and they held each other as their lips touched.

Their kiss seemed to last forever and when they pulled away, it was only to breath deeply.

Hermione was pulled tightly against Draco's bare chest as she sat on his lap. He pecked little kisses up her jaw line and to her ear.

"What happened with Weasley?" he whispered longingly. This question had been nagging at his mind for ages now and he felt it was only fare to give an eye for an eye.

She sat back on his lap; arms still linked around his neck and gave his face a once-over. Hermione climbed off his lap, despite his desperate rejections, and she lied down on the floor, placing her hands behind her head.

He looked at her peculiarly and joined her, hugging her to his chest once again.

"If I tell you, will you promise not to make a big deal out of it?" she asked him, if she had not been just a bit tipsy, she might not have told him…but she was.

Draco nodded his head vigorously and kissed her again. She could feel the urgency in his kisses and she kissed him back with the same need.

She gave him one nod back and started the story.

"It was seventh year…the war had just finished…"

* * *

There was a victory celebration held for those fighting against Voldemort and of course, I was there.

It started out as a really nice night full of joy and loss and heartache, yet there was a certain vibe from everyone that it kind of numbed the pain of it all. Those that had died had died to save others, so we honored the ones whose lives had meant something great.

Everyone was drinking and dancing and partying. They threw Harry up multiple times in the air and caught him…same with Ron, Neville, me, and some others. We were all happy to have the war be over and Harry even said that he could feel it in the back of his scar that Voldemort was really truly dead.

People were congratulating others on their part in the war and they were hugging and kissing and holding tight as if they were never to let go. It was beautiful in a way…to see all these people—some of them not too fond of each other before—acting as if they had always been friends.

Ronald was such a gentleman the beginnings of the night, kissing me every now in then on the lips, drinking an 'every now and then' glass of Firewhiskey (which it turns out, several 'every now and then's turn out to be a lot of alcohol), and whispering in my ear "It's going to be alright, Mione! The war's over. We're safe." I don't think he had gotten over the fact that all danger was gone and we were free to just _be._

When my favorite song came on he even took my hand and asked me in his finest voice, after a night of fighting the dark arts, to dance. He held me close and whispered over and over in my ear that he loved me.

He wasn't very coordinated. It could be because he was just Ron or because he was drunk…but it still felt good to be held in his embrace that I had been waiting for since third year. I really am a patient person. Ha.

I had never taken Ronald Weasley for a romantic guy…but he was exactly that that night. I almost thought he was going to pull out a wedding ring right there and ask me for my hand, knowing it was a very long shot, but a girl can dream.

Once the song ended he had a look on his face as if he were wondering something while also deciding another as well.

"I need to speak to you alone." He said, a smirk beginning on his freckled face.

I of course was confused at why he would be smirking, but I followed. He wouldn't hurt me, right?

We walked up a flight of stairs in the Hogwarts castle and went into an old, abandoned classroom that was not destroyed by war and he sat us down behind the professor's large mahogany desk.

It didn't take long before we were kissing like madly in love lovers…nor did it take long for him to have his hands up my shirt. He started undoing my clothing and I stopped him.

Ron didn't think I was serious and I wasn't as strong as him. He mistook my cries for help as…_groans_.

I didn't want it. I didn't want any of it…I couldn't do anything but just lie there and silently weep. He feel asleep on top of me as I cried and a few hours later, I pushed him off, redressed myself and disapparated away.

* * *

"I don't think he even knows he did it. I certainly don't have the guts to tell him, or anybody else for that matter…he wondered for a while why I wasn't talking to him. God…He doesn't know! He doesn't even know that he fucked me…but he did. And I remember. He might not…but I do. So clearly. So fucking clearly." The story had brought tears to her eyes. She sat up and hung her head and crossed her arms around her chest, ashamed and embarrassed that she had told him all that.

He sat up as well and she saw stains running down his cheeks that looked somewhat like tears.

Draco was crying. He was _crying. _For _her. _

He grabbed her and held her tight against his chest. It was spur-of-the-moment and Hermione had not been expecting it. She uncrossed her arms that were now being squished and hugged him back with the same ferocity.

While he held her she realized something…

He cared for her. He might even love her.

Love. It had been such a long time since she had felt love…and here it was, given to her so clearly and so passionately.

And she loved it.

They feel asleep, Hermione cradled on his lap, her head fitting so perfectly in the nape of his neck and Draco bent over Hermione protectively, shielding her from any further harm.

And she loved it.

**Didn't I tell you it was gonna be awesome? Oh I thoroughly enjoyed writing this chapter…and to tell you the truth it came extremely easily to me. Am I a natural at this stuuuufff? I hope so.**

**Please, as always, I beg you to ****REVIEW!**

**You don't even understand how important reviews are to me you guys. Please and thank you **

**Happy writings**

**Caroline**


	8. Grease

**A/N**

**I really hope you enjoyed the last chappie…I know I did. So much. So now they're like…dating. Weird right? Haha, but that's what you guys are reading it for… :D**

**Disclaimer and all that pizzazz. **

**ON WITH THE READING!**

Hermione walked down the stairs of Malfoy Manor in her pj bottoms and her cardigan hangover top in total bliss, carrying a little note. She held her coffee proudly, sipping it every so often… Draco had gotten her hooked on plain and black and she had formed an easy addiction.

It was hot going down her throat and she realized it was the fourth day to spend here… she had insisted on separate rooms, but sometimes they fell asleep in the parlor on the loveseat just holding each other. Hermione was still shielded, but she still kissed him.

She loved his kisses. They were sweeter than Ron's ever were, plus they held a sort of guarded passion that seemed to want to keep her happy, whatever it took.

Walking into the kitchen she saw a man sitting at the rather large breakfast table in light blue, silk pajamas and a robe smirking at her pleasantly. She couldn't help but smile back.

She looked back at the piece of paper she held in her hands and read it over again.

_I made you some coffee, hope_

_you enjoy it. Come and find me._

_-Big D. _

"I got your note…Big D.? What's all that about?" she asked him, giggling a bit.

"Well since you are wondering…it stands for my wiener. As in the sausage I just cooked for breakfast. No…it stands for Big Draco." Hermione suppressed a laugh and gave him a friendly slap on the face.

"Right…that's exactly what you meant wasn't it." She rolled her eyes and smiled.

"So come on over to Big D. and tell me how you slept, love." He said pleasantly, waving his hand to have her come sit on his lap.

"Oh it was alright…I had a little dream. It was nothing." Hermione's expression fell a little and she averted her eyes from his so he couldn't see the lie she was hiding. It was not a good dream. It was a haunting dream that she had chosen to forget this morning so she could just be with him…but dreams, unfortunately, were not too easy to forget with Hermione.

Draco took her chin in his hand and spun her head around so she would be facing him and he knit his brows together.

"What happened, Hermione? What did you dream?" she deliberately did not answer him and took her thumb and smoothed out his eyebrows. Hermione tried to stop them, but the tears started coming.

"Don't do that or you'll get worry lines." She blubbered.

He took her head and laid it against his chest.

"Tell me, Hermione. Please." Draco whispered into her ear. He hated seeing her hurt.

"I had another dream about the war, and…" her words trailed off and she hid her face in his chest even more. But he seemed to know what she dreamt about.

"Oh. It'll be OK. He isn't around here and the war is over and Voldemort is long dead and so are all the Deatheaters and we'll all be happy, Hermione. We'll all be happy now." He was blabbering and not making much sense.

The pair was perfect for each other. Both had dark pasts that each would remember, but they had each other to balance the other out. He comforted her and she comforted him.

"Yeah? I know. It'll be fine, right?" she replied, still far from happy yet there was a light glimmer of happiness that might come soon.

He held her and she drank her coffee and ate her sausage.

A blister formed on her thigh and his temple. They were filled with a substance looking a lot like grease.

**Sorry you guys, it's mostly fluff, but I couldn't come up with more! I am having trouble. To hell with writer's block right? Urgh!**

**Somebody please help me! I need to find something I could categorize as their first fight! I have the story line out, but I can't think about what the fight would be like! Anybody who can give me a legit, good idea I will give them honorable mention and possibly fit them into the story somehow****. Thanks you guys.**

**I love you all. But those non-reviewers out there? You kinda make me sick. Truly you do. So please ****REVIEW! I mean it! REVIEW!**

**Happy writings and a good day**

**Caroline**


	9. Cards

**A/N **

**Hello dear readers. Do you know the feeling when you kinda get bored with things? Well I'm getting bored from so little reviews. :/ you know I enjoy reviews do you not? I feel like there is no reason to write sometimes because nobody reviews! You people who only read and possibly add to favorites, well that's nice and all…but how do I know that you really enjoyed it unless you review?**

**Anywhoo, I really have to pee at this moment in time. My bladder is about to explode, yet I am still writing. That shows how much I love you all…even the people who don't review. So keep that in mind.**

**Oh, and in other sad news of my uneventful life… I most likely won't be getting a date to Homecoming. Yippee. **

**Disclaimer: I should hope you know the drill by now. Blisters are mine, but everything you recognize is not.**

**On with the magic.**

It was getting late. _Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock._ The time was ticking away slowly and Hermione was beginning to feel the dull thrums of a distant headache. He was supposed to be back from work by now and they were supposed to be watching the sunset together…but the time still ticked away, _hours_ now after five o'clock.

Hermione felt something that now seemed ancient come back to her like a sickness. It was a mixture of let down and rejection and she realized that she hadn't missed it. The pain of her hopes being crushed made the headache come faster. How silly of her to hope!

Eyes drooping immensely, she sat down on the couch to just rest. She hadn't planned on falling asleep, but exhaustion and sorrow overruled will, so she let her eyes close.

Hours later she woke to the sound of laughter. Still drowsy, Hermione thought she was dreaming. She rubbed her eyes and her back immediately went erect when she realized it all _wasn't _a dream. Draco was laughing in the other room and more voices added to his laughter.

"The principle of it all is not _just_ being here, it's living it up while you can! Isn't that right Draco?" a voice she did not recognize stated.

"And that is exactly what I strive to do! I'm a free man for God's sake! No shackles can hold me down!" Draco sounded a bit tipsy, but he was using his pompous 'better-than-thou' voice that she hadn't heard him use since Hogwarts days, and that of which she had almost forgotten completely about. It scared her.

"Free? What about that little mudblood sleeping on your couch Draco?" another man said in a way that might have been teasing if it hadn't been scoffed in a degrading way.

There was silence from Draco as he was deciding what to say.

The other two men laughed and a third joined in.

"See? You're not _free_. Your hands are tied! And by a _muggle born _at that!" the men laughed again.

Hermione was appalled to hear that Draco added to the laughter as well.

"But I _am_ free…she has a bit of a problem and I am just helping out is all." The men looked at each other, skeptical. He had started to gain back his edge and what Hermione heard seemed to suck the breath right out of her and she could feel her heart constrict in her empty chest that she thought had been filled by Draco Malfoy. How could she have been so stupid?

"Right then! Shall we get on to our game?" Draco asked, changing the subject. The men mumbled their replies.

She could hear the sort of ruffling of what she thought was probably cards for a nice game of gin. Hermione stayed quiet, thinking about what he had said to the men who she assumed were his friends.

His _friends_ that nearly spit out the word '_muggle born_'. They were _his_ friends.

Although she knew what had happened, the shock of it all had not hit her yet. Hermione was still numb from it all. It didn't make sense. Why would he have carried her to his house the night she got drunk and let her stay this long? Why would have let her kiss him? Why did he kiss her back? Nothing felt right.

Hours passed as the men played card game after card game into the early morning. Hermione was too tired to understand much, yet to scared to fall asleep.

She closed her eyes, just listening to the men in the other room. They stayed for two hours and finally the first man said he had to leave and the other two followed suit.

For just a moment, Hermione opened her eyes as she heard Draco coming into the room where she was laying on the couch, but she re-shut them when he came close enough to see.

He stopped, she sensed, and he bent down to kiss her on the forehead. She was disgusted with him. After saying all that shit about how she was nothing to him he would have the gull to actually kiss her.

With heartbreaking decision, she knew what she would have to do to save herself and the little spec of dignity she still held in her pocket.

After kissing her, Draco walked up the stairs. When she felt he was long gone, she sat up slowly. Her head and heart was still numb and unknowing, but she knew she had to get away.

Pulling her wand out of her pocket, she began to realize how stupid she really had been. To think that someone that had been a prat for seven of the twelve years she had known him would suddenly have a change of heart was utterly ridiculous.

Hermione started to shiver, yet she wasn't at all cold. The shaking would not stop and she didn't want to feel this way, yet she did. Over the course of a week she had grown to like Draco a lot. Possibly even love, and to have that all ripped away from her was torture.

Why the hell did it hurt? Because love would never be fare with her. She would always end up on the broken end of the bargain…she would never be the one to gain anything.

With quite a struggle, Hermione found herself on her feet again. The weight of her body seemed to have left completely and she could not feel any part of the legs she was supposed to be walking with. Yet, she made her way.

Quietly, without disturbance to Draco who was probably already asleep, she exited the large knockered doors.

So that the loud crack of her disapparating would not wake him or anybody else for that matter, she went on for ten minutes of torture. When she felt it was safe enough for her to leave, she disapparated.

Her apparation destination was her home. Just the impact of being back where she felt she even meagerly belonged blew her emotions to pieces and she couldn't hold the tears in any longer, for the realization of heartbreak finally occurred.

Why?

That would always be the question, but there would never be an answer. Frequently, Hermione found herself playing the well known 'why game' and she felt it wasn't hard to get sucked into it.

Why did she let herself love again? Why didn't she realize what was happening? Why did she let him kiss her? Why…? Why? Why?

A question left unanswered can drive a person to insanity, yet Hermione wasn't even that lucky.

**Ooh, sorry you guys! This one is oober dark! I didn't mean to make it so melancholy. It will get better I assure you! :D So don't be down, take off that frown, I ain't messin around! Now you can laugh at my stupid rhyming! ;)**

**Happy writings Loves**

**Caroline**


	10. Macy

**A/N**

**Hello people of Fanfiction! I am so sorry it has been such a long time. I just have been blocked of all writing ideas and thoughts. I hate when that happens…and not to mention, school is hell for me at the moment… EEEEK! And I have been holding a challenge on HPFC forum, so it hasn't been easy to do anything. I am so sorry u guys, and I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive lil' ol' me. **

**The challenge was called 'Can You Write a Romance?' Challenge. So, we had four wonderful winners! :D It was such an exciting challenge. So here they are… ****First Places:**_**PhantomStar07 with Teenage Dream **_**AND **_**ix3youlots with Eight Years. **_**Wonderful stories, you should read them. ****Second Places: **_**DangerouslyAvril with Liar, Liar. **_**AND ****Third Place:**_**blisss with Turning Back Time.**_

**Those that participated were: **_**I'm Yours by Ivy Clover, For Love Can Never Be Broken by Mysterious Flower, how does it feel babydoll? by Camilla Monet, Helpful Portrait by Celia Equus, May the Best Spy Win by RoseScor90, A Glimpse of Happiness by pippi55, Romance? by Foixy Lady, Just A Schoolboy Crush by Toxic Rainfall, Lipstick by Maristela Freesia, Too Annoying for Love? by '-Magical Moonshine-', Together by AshMoon, Amorentia by daughterxofxapollo, Hearts Shatter by BlueEyes444, and Unexpected Funder by owhappyday! :D **_**Twas really fun.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the friggin books**

**Kisses and enjoy!**

Draco tapped his fingers anxiously on the desk he sat at. His feet were propped up as he leaned back in his luxurious swivel, and his brows were wrinkled so terribly together, some might have feared they would be forever knitted in such a ways.

Mr. Malfoy was most certainly not looking his best, for his face was splotchy as if he had not slept well, his eyes drooped, confirming the last idea, his hair was in a wheat field mess, and a large, irritated, swelling mark on the left corner of his forehead, that had formed just four nights ago, was getting worse and it seemed to be filled with miniature playing cards which added even more to his stress and confusion.

The papers on his desk smelled strongly of perfume, either because of the boatloads that his flirty secretary wore had rubbed off on them, or because she sprayed it directly onto the papers, trying in vain to somehow seduce him, but the overwhelming smell of the odor only added to his stress and allowed his throbbing headache to fester.

The night that she had left, he had come home drunk with his 'friends' to play a couple rounds of gamble, and he didn't remember much of it, but for some reason, he woke up the next morning with a hangover and no sense of where Hermione had gone.

He had searched the whole manor and even sent some of the house elves to help, but it was to no avail, for she was not in his home any more.

A once gentle drumming on the desk surface with his fingers slowly grew into an obnoxious _tap tap tap_ping the hard tip quill he was supposed to be writing with…but he could not think. He could not write. Draco was a mess and oh so confused.

While in thought, his rather large oak door was pushed open by his slutty secretary, Macy.

"Mr. Malfoy, sir, the minister wants the paperwork you were supposed to have filled out yesterday." She said, trying to act sexy, as she moved fluently to his desk, placed her hands on it and bent down to eye level (or should I say breast level) so that his eyes fell exactly onto the large amount cleavage peaking out of her _terribly, _and even selfishly low cut shirt.

He had to admit…she _was _something _nice_ to look at. Maybe it wouldn't be bad to give in. Hermione didn't seem to want him anymore. Maybe it was time to move on?

Macy smiled—some might even say evilly— as he continuously stared in an almost lulling way, with his mouth open in a perfect 'O' shape. She took one of the hands that held her large…shoulders…up and brushed it over his cheek. It was amazingly smooth and just the right temperature that a girl's hand should be.

Draco felt himself blush when she reached into her…shirt…to find a little piece of paper. Macy set it down on his desk and winked.

"If you want, we can go out for some drinks at the Three Broomsticks. Tonight at 8?" she hinted, and all he could do was nod. Never mind the strong scent of perfume she left behind that only intoxicated him more.

Should he have had any sense at the moment, he would not have thought anything about saying no…but giving into temptation seemed so much easier than fighting it off. Wasn't this right? Wasn't he human?

But this was not a question of whether he was human or not, it was a battle of morals. Should he do this to Hermione wherever she was? Should he give himself away so easily to a slut who wants him one day but might not the next?

But she had an appeal.

She wasn't kind. She wasn't sweet. But yes…she had _that _appeal.

* * *

Hermione sank deep down in the velvet, puke coloured armchair that was seated near her easel. She held the highest distaste and detest and hate and any other word you could think of for that stupid chair. But her eyes did not allow her to think these things, for she was so tired. Her eyes drooped from lack of sleep and she felt queasy.

Had it really been five days since Draco had so openly told his friends that she was nothing but a tool? She should have known he would bring her heartache. But foolishness deceived her. It was a blind 'romance'. Isn't that how it always is?

He had probably already forgotten about her. This was just the same Draco she had known at Hogwarts, she was just somehow easier to deceive. And she poured her soul out to him. Did he not care? Of course he didn't! What kind of question was that?

This was a battle of her mind that she knew she could not win. She wanted to think it was all a mistake, and that he didn't mean to say such things about her…but she knew it was hopeless, for the dominant part of her mind insisted the truth: He had only used her.

_Typical._ Thought Hermione. Was this how it was going to be _every_ time she fell in love? Or would it be better not to fall in love at all.

Hermione took a quick glimpse at her clock and realized it was blinking red, signaling that it was time to go back to work, although it seemed that her one hour break was not near long enough.

Maybe, though, work would take her mind of things?

Hermione let out a sharp high-pitched, humourless laugh. No…no it wouldn't.

* * *

Draco waited outside the Three Broomsticks at 7:58pm for Macy. The internal battle he felt raging on inside his mind was not easy to tune out, so he pretended like he wasn't hearing anything, though inside his mind was a living hell of confusion, chaos, and grenade launchers.

She arrived at 8:02pm. Each minute was twenty pounds added to his already overflow of dread.

Macy was wearing a low cut, skin tight, dark blue dress that barely covered her butt. The cape she wore around her shoulders was black and it was left open, so there was no real reason of wearing it except to feign modesty, but anybody would be able to tell that she was anything but modest.

Immediately upon arriving, she looped her arm through his and held on tight, and he could feel Macy pressing herself against him purposely and Draco had to fight off images that seeped into his troubled mind. Was there no break to this war? Would there ever be an _end_?

They both ordered Firewhiskey at first…but as the night grew darker, their drink selection became stronger and more intoxicating. She kissed him once, and he hungered for more. She kissed him again, and he was still left yearning, yet it wasn't her kisses he longed for, though he did not know it.

It was never much of a talkative evening. Macy didn't care to tell him anything of herself, and Draco figured she knew everything about him from being his secretary, so there was no use. Macy was never the 'talkative' type, and she wasn't afraid to show it.

When Draco had finally had enough, Macy took him by his hand when he was too drunk to handle himself, and they side-apparated away.

_*Preview of next Chapter*_

"_Shh, Draco. Don't talk so much. Why do you think I brought you here?" whispered Macy as Draco sat on the couch. Macy was wearing satin lingerie and Draco couldn't look at her. He was tempted…oh he _was _tempted. But did he really want this?_

_Give in. Don't give in. He didn't know what to do. He needed _something_, but was this it?_

"_Just take my hand…it'll be over really quick…" she said, walking slowly to where he sat. She bent down and whispered into his ear something that sent shivers down his spine and she winked at him…_

*KEEP READING*

**K, you guys, I hope you enjoyed that. Was it too much? No? Yes? I don't know. Review to tell me how you liked it. I'm proud I got it up finally, and im sorry for the terribly long wait.**

**Ok, so I get a lot of inspiration from fan art…if you have any awesome Dramione fan art you want me to see, send it in! I'll mention you in the next chapter! :D**

**READ AND REVIEW! JOIN THE RR REVOLUTION!**

**Happy writing**

**Caroline**


	11. Lust

**A/N**

**Hello again! :D nice to see you old chaps! I feel more writey, and if you like what I write, then you should be grateful that I feel a writey mood coming on. And I just want to thanks **_**ItsOnMars**_** for being there for me and writing rad reviews and reading every chapter faithfully. Kisses go out to you cookie! :D I really appreciate it.**

**Also, I want to re-recognize the winners for the 'Can You Write a Romance?' Challenge… **_**1**__**st**__** Places: Teenage Dream by PhantomStar07 and Eight Years by ix3youlots. 2**__**nd**__** Place: Liar, Liar by DangerouslyAvril. And 3**__**rd**__** Place: Turning Back Time by blisss. **_**READ THEM! YOU WILL LOVE ME FOR TELLING YOU!**

**Disclaimer: YOU GET THE DRIFT! DON'T ASK ME TO REPEAT IT! IT AINT MINE!**

**Anywhoo, read on!**

_Passion is an object of desire or deep interest._

_Lust is described as pleasure and delight to oneself for selfish reasons._

_And __**Love**__ is __strong_ _affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties…but can also be described as an assurance of affection._

_What, then, is this?_

_

* * *

_

Someone once said that beating around the bush was simply cowardice glowing at its peak. Draco was a coward. He was evasive of the truth, and he wanted nothing to do with these terrible feelings…so he did his best to hide them through lust.

Macy did not mind…in fact she welcomed it. She knew he was not truly himself, but this made things all the more easy. She would take his weakness and snatch it by surprise to its fullest extent.

She took him to her home, a rather large flat excluded from crazy city life and located in an area 'For Magic People Only'. The flat was surprisingly quaint and cottage like, giving it the appeal that she was an innocent country girl…but having worked with her for nearly two years, he knew better.

"I'll be right back…I've…got to use the restroom." Macy said, a mischievous grin spreading across her face, and she left him.

Draco sighed and shook his blur visioned head.

"I had a really great time. Firewhiskey was good. Good…really good. I have always liked that…drink…" Draco raised his voice so she could hear him, his words slurred, and although he had nearly full control on his mind, he felt sick to his stomach from all the alcohol he had consumed. "You have a nice place. It's pretty…pretty…home-ish…" he trailed off as Macy came out smiling in an amused manor.

"Shh, Draco. Don't talk so much. Why do you think I brought you here?" whispered Macy as Draco sat himself down on her couch that sat near the window, winded. Macy was wearing satin lingerie and Draco couldn't look at her. He was tempted…oh he was tempted. But did he really want this?

Give in. Don't give in. He didn't know what to do. He needed _something_, but was this it?

"Just take my hand…it'll be over really quick…" she said, walking slowly to where he sat. She bent down and whispered into his ear something that sent shivers down his spine and she winked at him. And she began to undress herself, the top—if it could be called that even—first.

Draco had that scared puppy look that you got when you were afraid and you were about to do something you had never done before. Macy had told him something so inappropriate and so outrageous that it brought him back to his sixth year at Hogwarts with Pansy.

"_Come on Draco, it's not a big deal. Show it to me. I'm sure it's lovely. Don't be shy." Pansy worked hard on persuading him._

"_Oh shut up and kiss me." He replied, annoyed. She rolled her eyes and they continued snogging on his bed in the deserted sixth year, Slytherin, boy's dormitories. Draco felt her breast and groaned and she giggled and reached into his pants, but he caught her._

"_Ugh! _Come on!_ You're allowed to feel me up, but I'm not allowed that same pleasure?"_

_Draco was silent. Of course it was logical. But he didn't really have any feelings for Pansy…she was just so damn easy that he didn't really care._

_Pansy smirked mischievously and reached back inside his trousers and he let out a fierce groan. She unbuttoned his pants and he let her. She took of her shirt and he watched. She wasn't really that pretty, but she had a nice figure. She showed him her breasts and he let her, she climbed on top of him and he let her place his hand on her breast, and he showed her what was hidden down below, and she watched and whispered the same thing Macy did._

"_Let me suck you." She growled into his ear and he sat up straight. It had not been an asking, it had been a demand and she pulled herself down to his waste._

"_No. Get off me Pansy." Draco coldly put it and re dressed himself. He did not love her. He did not want this from _her.

"No." Draco hardened his eyes with a cold stare and Macy was taken aback. He had decided he would not do this to Hermione.

"What? But isn't that the reason you came with me? Don't you want me?" Macy was getting angry, but it was hard for her to hide the shock and pain that came with his word.

"No." he repeated himself. There was no emotion, no spark of life hidden anywhere in his stone cold face.

For a second, she was confused. Then she was hurt. Rejection was not something she was used to, for the men she dated always came home with her, always wanted her, and always were taken in by the temptress.

"Get your life back in line Macy." He ordered, still emotionless and hard.

Draco disapparated, leaving her sunken figure on the floor, unhinged by his words.

* * *

Hermione had been up late working when it happened. She felt a sharp twinge of something that could have been described as pain but it was almost soothing. She drew her eyes to her arm and saw a blister that had been festering and had become quite gruesome start to vanish. It was almost as if it was being sucked back into her arm. The tiny pores on her skin became like vacuums and the red blemish nearly vanished in a whirl pool of skin.

Staring in shock and awe, Hermione fell back. This was magic, and magic was _nothing_ new…but she had never known _this_ kind of magic. The sight nearly made her faint.

She blinked her eyes twice, realizing how tired she really was.

It must have been lack of sleep. That's it. It was just from lack of sleep. This strange occurrence must have been a visionary of the mind, used to inform her that she was indeed tired.

But deep inside her, there was a knowing doubt. Though it must have been inside her subconscious, for she herself did not realize what she knew.

Draco was furious with himself. All he could do was beat on walls with his head and fists, kick things over, and gnash his teeth together with the angry nails-on-a-chalkboard sound. And Draco found himself doing something he thought he would never do, and had never done…

He cried. _Draco Malfoy_ cried. They weren't shallow tears that would be cried for a lost pet. They were terrifying, blood curdling shrieks of mental pain that agonized every part of him and chilled him to the core.

He had done some bad things in his life, but nothing truly compared to this. It was all coming back. The night with the cards. He could remember it clearly somehow, he did not know exactly, but it was so crystal and pure that it haunted his thoughts immensely.

"_The principle of it all is not _just_ being here, it's living it up while you can! Isn't that right Draco?" his co worker named Circumvenio._

"_And that is exactly what I strive to do! I'm a _free_ man for God's sake! No shackles can hold me down!" _

"_Free? What about that little mudblood sleeping on your couch Draco?" Draco's new 'friend' Invisus inquired and he had been silent._

"_See? You're not _free_. Your hands are tied! And by a _muggle born_ at that!" _

"_But I _am_ free…she has a bit of a problem and I am just helping out is all…"_

What a bastard he had been! How could he have been so foolish? No wonder she had left. She didn't deserve scum like him. He needed her…but she didn't deserve him. And he didn't deserve her. She was to great…to _perfect_ for him to deserve her.

This overwhelming heartache was something he never had to bear before, for he felt nothing like this for the women he had crossed paths with in the past. This was different. He—for some reason—_needed _her.

Although this was not the question. He had needed her all along, but had only just realized it. The question stood as this: would he do something about it, or stand back and ignore these urgent needs?

* * *

_*Preview for Chapter 12*_

"_You aren't being fair, Draco! I am not stupid. You can't just think that after everything, things will go back to normal can you?" tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at him incredulously._

"_No." there he went again, being the ignorant, selfish prat he had always been. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to give you that option."_

"_The option's gone. It's _gone_ Draco. The option was never there in the first place, now was it?"_

**KEEP READING!**

**Hello you guys! I hope you enjoyed it! :D**

**Read and review. *****KISSES***

**Happy writings**

**Caroline**


	12. Snow

**A/N**

**Hello peopolas! :D Sorry for such a long wait…I guess my turning in of stories is kinda unpredictable, huh? Well at least it wasn't as long as the last time…it took me 3 weeks or so to get it in! XD**

**Stories to read:**

_**Eight Years by ix3youlots**_

_**Teenage Dream by PhantomStar07**_

_**and**_

_**Liar, Liar by DangerouslyAvril**_

**So most of you know what I am going to say next right? Yup! I don't own HP!**

**Ok, so things have been rough for me and my family lately and I don't know if I'm going to be able to update as fast as I had wanted for the next chapter. Please don't hate me! D=**

**Kisses, and enjoy! :D**

"_You are Hermione Granger Godamnit! You are the smartest witch of your age. Pull through this. It was nothing. He didn't mean to after all. And you love him, right? Pull through this. It's your fault anyway for not being strong enough to stop him. It's your fault. Pull through it." She told herself sternly, looking at her puffy eyes in the mirror. She had her first job interview to do, and it was not going to be easy noting the fact that she had been raped less than 24 hours before._

_A quick splash of water, a fresh coat of makeup, and newly ironed clothes can work wonders. Hermione had always seemed like such a good actress. Such a good faker when she needed to be._

_Such a good actress. Fake._

_No pain? Lies…_

Hermione woke with a start, sweat pouring off her face. Another nightmare was it? She pushed off the blankets that choked her in its hold.

It was frigid, sharp, and freezing. Hermione looked out to the window and saw that it was snowing. The digital by her bedside said 3:02am. She wrapped herself up in a blanket that was folded nearby. You see, Hermione didn't want to use the one's she had been sleeping on for they disgusted her. They made her feel dirty and she wanted nothing to do with them.

Wrapped up like a burrito, she walked, her feet lagging, to the balcony to watch the snow fall. It was pure and clean and innocent like she used to be. Like she_ longed_ to be.

She did not use a chair nor a bench as she sat down. She used the ground. Hermione did not need to feel comforted so much, that was what the blanket was for, the _snow_ comforted her. It was so beautiful, so free and snow didn't have to worry about life. Snow was just something that happened. It listened to the wind and was sprinkled down by the hands of God…if there was one. The flakes were calming and brought a smile to Hermione's face as she closed her eyes. For a moment they had no stress wrinkles. For a moment they were not bagged and for a moment they were youthful and generally happy.

Unfortunately for a moment does not last forever.

* * *

Draco paced. He paced little ovals around his room. His hair was in a mess, his eyes were puffy and red, and he had no shirt. Normally, this would not be abashing, but there were scarlet imprints all over his finely chiseled chest. Draco was mumbling to himself of things he had to do, things he had to take care of, things he had to make right.

Drowsiness did not allow him to think straight, so his words mushed together and didn't make much sense.

His mind was made, though it wavered a bit every now and then, the idea would stay firm, as it was and he would do as he needed to. And what he needed to do was find her, and make her his again. Would she say yes after all this? Would she care? Would she laugh at him while he was on his hands and knees begging for her? Was he too desperate? No. She was worth more than he was. He'd be desperate to settle for Macy or Pansy…but not Hermione. She was purest in his books and he did not deserve her, but he would try.

The need of his was so strong that he did not care that it was only 3:15am. He needn't care that she might be asleep. In fact, he did not even know it, for his mind was oblivious. Draco even nearly went on not noticing that it was snowing…but it was the cold petals that kissed his face and melted to become tiny tear droplets that stirred him. He felt safe.

Wondering if Hermione could see them or feel them or even hear the gentle and comforting whirring that echoed through the night, Draco paused for a second. For a moment he imagined his conversation with Hermione would go perfect. For a moment she imagined he would take him back though he did not deserve her and for a moment, he saw her glistening smile light up as she saw him.

_Unfortunately,_ thought he, _for a moment does not last till forever. _And so he disapparated so he could see her face again. And maybe, just maybe, she would take him back. Maybe she would forgive.

* * *

Bliss was cut short for Hermione when she heard a three knock thud on her door. The first she ignored, it scared her and her eyes were opened—bringing her back to reality—but she simply pretended that nobody had knocked.

The second was not quite so easy to ignore, for it was louder and more urgent. Hermione re-wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and shivered coldly, and when she stood up she felt the dizziness of a head rush which led to the third knock.

The third knocking was one of pity. It was as though the knocker—whoever he might be—was starting to give up. Hermione wavered on the idea that maybe she could wait it out. Maybe the visitor would get tired of knocking and leave so she could visit her snow, but her conscience weighted out. She left her cozy spot beneath the comforting snow and opened the door only to see an oh-so frazzled Draco staring at her with needy eyes.

"Hermione, I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry. I didn't mean to. The things I said weren't true. I promise." He appeared so wanting and helpless and Hermione was not one to hold a grudge. She started nodding reluctantly at first, but her nods became more precise with each one—a total of four to be exact.

"Oh thank you so much!" he blazed, then bent down to hug her, but she jerked away. Did he really think she would take him back so easily? Yes, she forgave him, but that didn't mean that everything was just peachy as if nothing had ever happened!

A second time, he bent down to hug her and yet again she turned away.

"Why won't you hug me? Isn't everything fine now?" he genuinely looked confused. He had obviously never had someone reject him before. But his apparent lack of understanding outraged Hermione for some reason.

"Are you stupid, Draco? Are you really that arrogant?" her manner was one of shell-shock as she looked at him, taking the arms that were wrapped around her waist to keep the blanket up and dropping them down so the blanket fell with them. She hated how he towered over her for it gave _him_ the intimidating advantage.

"What? Didn't you just say that you forgave me? Didn't you _just say_ that? Didn't you? How am I arrogant if you _just told me_ that _I was forgiven?_" he was becoming angry as well, though he did not have the right to.

"You aren't being fair, Draco! I am not stupid. You can't just think that after everything, things will go back to normal can you?" tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at him incredulously.

"No." there he went again, being the ignorant, selfish prat he had always been. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to give you that option."

"The option's gone. It's _gone_ Draco. The option was never there in the first place, now was it?" by this point, Hermione had re-crossed her arms, had her back bent, her head facing towards him and her eyes were searching. They were wet and accusing, and her brow was furrowed so as to make her point clearer to he who just was too hard to understand anything.

"Well I think it was!" he howled back. "Dammit, why shouldn't there have been?"

"_Because_ Draco! You're a _Malfoy_. I'm—as you so kindly pointed out—am a _mudblood._ Do you get it now? _Do you understand?_" she shot back, unwilling to back down, though she was starting to feel the tiniest bit queasy. Draco winced at the word 'mudblood' and took a couple of deep breaths.

"No! I really don't! What's that got anything to do with anything?" it was a scream. His voice was rising so loud he had to shut the door or her neighbors were bound to hear.

"It has _everything_ to do with anything! You don't belong here! Hell, _I_ don't belong here! But as long as I'm here, you shouldn't be. Because wherever we are, there will be persecution. Wherever we are together, it won't fit. If ever we kiss, it won't be right!" Oh how she wanted to slap him. This was obvious to her, but he still didn't get it.

"And why the hell not?" he was monotone in saying this, and when Hermione did not reply for lack of any words or reasons, he grabbed hold of her shoulders and shook her. "WHY THE HELL NOT HERMIONE?"

And she fell. She fell down to the floor as millions of blisters erupted all over her body. She fell unconscious and the last bit of tears she was holding in fell involuntarily from her eyes. These blisters were daunting and terrifying. Draco's eyes went wide with shock as he watched them cover her arms, legs, and neck. Strangely, the only place they did not form was on her face. Her cheeks that were once warm and rosy from the heat of the quarreling were fading slowly to a lighter shade of her skin, yet her lips stayed the same colour. Pink with a hint of red trickled and weaved itself around the center.

Draco fell to his knees and picked her up from the hard wood flooring. What had he done? What was happening around here? Draco looked around instinctually for someone to help them and noticed that the snow had stopped falling, instead, angry patters of hail rained down and smashed to the balcony's ground.

In the same way that it had happened to Hermione, blisters wrapped themselves around Draco's body as well.

He kissed her cheek as he held her, frantically trying to spring her back to consciousness. He kissed her check again and again and again, he moved to her forehead and tears of his own began to fall gently from his eyes.

"Wake up Hermione. Wake up. I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry." He whispered urgently into her left ear. Kiss after kiss all over her face, a few on her arms and the palms of her hands began to make her seem cleaner, less crowded with angry, raised blemishes.

He hugged her tighter to his chest. He would make her better. He had to.

_**Preview of Next Chapter**_

"_D-Draco?" she said feebly for she was weakened and could barely lift her head._

_He was not there, but somehow he heard her and came back._

"_What happened?" although she asked, she did not need to. She knew everything that had happened the night before; she just did not want to believe that it was all true._

_You could see it in his eyes, Draco was elated she was awake; he did not spare a second to scoop her up into a large bear hug._

**Well! That was interesting. Was it too much? Please tell me. It seems like it wasn't really believable was it? Not one of my best chapters I guess… :/**

**READ AND REVIEW! Don't just favorite it, if you're not going to review, then what's the point? What I really want from you wonderful readers is ****REVIEWS!**

**I love you all, and please tell me what you think, I'm not too confident about this chappie.**

**Happy writings**

**Caroline**


	13. Blisters

**A/N**

**Wow it's been a long time. I am so sorry. Exams have seriously been killer and I just have been unable to write for this! I'm working on it, but WRITERS BLOCK HAS BEGUN TO FILL UP SOME OF MY WRITNG! DX**

**I'm completely worn out, and a good guy friend has told me that I need more sleep (something about killing brain cells with the little sleep I've gotten…) so I'm trying. Three cheers for going to sleep at 9 last night! Hip hip?**

**Disclaimer: HEY! GUESS WHAT! IT'S NOT MINE!**

**I hope you like it…**

"_Ronald, do you realize how much I love you?" she whispered in a frightened tone, knowing that if they died today, she would have wanted to leave him with those words._

_He looked her way and smiled, sadness filling his heart. His head nodded back and forth several times; slowly, like a pendulum. And those gorgeous eyes that had captivated her so many times in the past years of their friendship penetrated her heart as if he could see deep down to the very depths of her soul._

"_Kiss me one more time Ronald. Just once more. I-in case we don't make it." The disparity in her voice made Ron wince. He couldn't talk for he feared he would say something that would truly show his fear. He couldn't let Hermione see how frightfully scared he was of the future. So he leaned down—just as he had done twice before—and pressed his warm lips against her chilling ones and lingered, remembering the taste._

"_Promise me. Please promise me that you won't ever let them hurt me. Please." Pleaded she, closing her eyes, for hot, salty tears were beginning to form at the corners and falling down her mud-caked cheeks._

_And once more, he nodded and his heart filled with the most sorrow it had ever felt for he knew that there was no way he could actually know. And when it came down to it, he wasn't very good at spells, he wasn't the strongest bloke and nor was he a Seer. If he wasn't able to protect her, it would demolish him. _

_Don turned his head away, ashamed of his cowardice. Whatever it took, he would protect her and she wouldn't hurt._

_

* * *

_

She dreamed reality.

She dreamed the past.

She dreamed of promises and lies.

Now it's time for her to wake up.

Wake up.

_Wake up._

_

* * *

_

"Wake up. Please wake up Hermione." Draco whispered into her ear as she lay on her love seat, curled up. Her skin was irritated and splotchy. As was his.

The night had passed with Draco kneeling by the couch he had laid her on **(1)**. He cried out for her the dominant parts of the night, but she would not answer, and so he let the long awaited tears flow. He could not remember the last time he had truly cried and he was not sure he ever had. Draco had always put up the illusion of being stone cold and his poker face was brilliant, so there was never any reason to show his emotions…but when you truly see a man break is when you realize that they are nearly just as emotional as females and the bent up feelings kept deep in their core are so delicate that they could erupt at any moment. And this was it. His volcano was finally roaring its beastly head in a huge wave of tears.

They were silent. He did not sob; he did not cry out in grief, he simply sat with his back propped to the foot of the couch, his feet curled to his chest and his hands tangled up in his hair, very nearly pulling it out.

Sometime about eight in the morning, he got up. His head ached as if he had a hangover, even though he hadn't had a drink in ages—days more accurately.

A great weight had been pressing on his bladder and he needed to release it, so he went to relieve himself.

Hermione lay on the couch with a troubled expression glued on her face. Such an ironic dream! Though it was more of a memory.

She could sense things happening around her and it was maddening. The scrape of the piping, the _whoosh_ of the water system, the rush of distant vehicles, the unnerving buzz of a bug, and the very high-pitched noise of her nerves buzzing around her body echoed throughout her head, bouncing ceaselessly in an array of annoyance.

Every second her mind was becoming more in-tuned to her surrounding environment and she could now sense that it was her home surrounding her, and the events of the night before started coming back in full swing.

Draco had wanted to apologise. Yet they had started screaming at each other and Hermione had fainted, her skin erupting in thousands of blisters.

But she, for some reason that she could not explain with her own mind, didn't care about what had happened. Her heart filled with forgiveness for this man who had whole heartedly apologised for his wrong doings towards her, and it was so plain and simple and easy. It was so much easier to just let it go and give him another chance as he so desired it.

And as this gigantic weight lifted from her shoulders, Hermione began to wake.

"D-Draco?" she said feebly for she was weakened and could barely lift her head.

He was not there, but somehow he heard her and came back.

"What happened?" although she asked, she did not need to. She knew everything that had happened the night before; she just did not want to believe that it was all true.

You could see it in his eyes, Draco was elated she was awake; he did not spare a second to scoop her up into a large bear hug.

Weak and weary, she used all the energy she had to hug his neck and she laid a solid kiss with frozen lips on his flushed yet sunken cheek.

"So…so I'm forgiven?" he whispered just as he had before.

Hermione nodded her head once and the corners of her plump lips stretched into a soft smile.

"You've got a blister." Hermione's voice cracked as she moved a shaking hand to touch Draco's neck where an angry blemish lived.

"So have you." He smirked, touching her neck, moving to her hands, then to her cheek. His had lingered for a moment before he brought his head down to place a kiss on her now colouring lips.

Something snapped in Hermione.

"You get blisters too." It was clearly not a question. Shock played in her eyes as she turned her eyes away from him and onto the few blisters that invaded her hand.

"You get blisters too!" Her eyes became wide as galleons. So this was not some sort of wronging with herself. This was something happening between the two of them.

Draco looked to her, his mind boggled as to what she was thinking.

Hermione's head snapped back to Draco's and realization occurred in his eyes as well.

"Something's up Hermione." He gasped, the volume of his tone dropping several decibels. Hermione simply nodded.

"Yeah."

_**Preview of next Chapter**_

_She shook him awake. _

"_Draco. Draco look at this. Hurry! Wake up!" there was an urgency in her voice that Draco simply could not ignore. He sat up, wiping the sleep from his eyes, and he stared at the computer screen, still not seeing anything for he had not completely woken up yet._

"A Bond Between Souls_ by Athenea Blackwood." Hermione's breathing caught in her chest as she read the next sentence…_

**I am so sorry that it's late and I feel extra bad for it being so short and full of fluff. I'm sorry you guys. PLEASE OH PLEASE FORGIVE ME! DX I love you all though!**

**(1) Ok, i really hope you guys don't have dirty minds. It wasn't meant to be.**

**READ AND REVIEW!**

**Happy writings**

**Caroline**


	14. Bonds

**A/N**

**Dear wonderful and devoted fans, I need help. Please help me decide what to do next. My life is so full of crap right now I cannot do much. I am so sorry for not posting sooner, but I have NO FREAKING TIME!**

**Gosh. I hate myself for making everyone wait so long. This is killing me and I've gone through a creative slump. Everything has stopped and I'm afraid that I've lost my edge. So sorry devoted fans. I pray that you will find it in your heart to forgive me and stay with me. **

**READ AND REVIEW if you please, I'm rotten for not keeping this up like I should be.**

**Disclaimer: JK's, not mine.**

_In a land of far away dreams, there was one princess. She was not truly a princess, she was merely a poor peasant girl—though she wished to be royalty with all the depths of her heart._

_This lowly farmer's daughter lived on a hill looking out on the kingdom—and most importantly—the castle. Each morning, as the sun rose, she would sit and watch the lights hit the extravagant building. She would dream that one day she would walk through the chapel doors as the sun shone through the stain glass windows that decorated the walls and she would be dressed in the most ostentatious white gown that could be made._

_But she knew her dreams could never become a reality, for she was only a peasant, a poor farmer's daughter with no money to her name and rags for clothes. Her prince was to never even know her name, much less ask for her hand. She pondered this and wept silently._

_What a world her heart longed for! And what a world she could never receive._

Hermione woke with a start and rubbed her eyes. Her dreams of seeming harmlessness haunted like nightmares. Before she knew she was a witch, she dreamed of being a princess—one like Cinderella or Snow White—though now she realized how silly and stereotypical her childhood dreams were.

Back aching, she pulled herself from Draco's arms, careful not to wake him and braided her hair into a plait down her back. She swiped at the tiny beads of sweat that gathered on her forehead.

She took a moment to glance at herself in the mirror and saw her cheeks were flushed and blotchy and there was an imprint of Draco's ring on her left cheek from sleeping with his hand pressed to her face. Sighing at all these things, she left the horrifying sight and sat down at Draco's desk and studied the covers of all the books they had checked out a few days previous.

"_Ancient Spells and Charms", "Hexes Through the Middle Ages", "Rarities in Magic", "Rare Fantastics", _and the last one which Hermione was _sure_ could never be it: "_Ancient Bonds from a Past Life_".

Since she had no idea where to start from, she figured she'd start with the basics, and so she read. Her eyes scanned every page so as not to miss a single detail that could possibly give a clue to what was going on with the blisters.

Her mind worked restlessly as if this were some big puzzle that she needed to piece together quickly. She would have even liked to finish before the sun came up.

Anxious, she tap, tap, tapped her fingers on the desk, feeling the slightest bit of stress seep over her. Tapping was a nervous habit, and she rarely ever noticed she did it, for it was so involuntary.

Draco stirred behind her and she turned to see him flip to his back, and the shirt he had been wearing was terribly wrinkled.

Hermione stifled a giggle for she knew that the old Hogwart's-student-Draco would not have allowed his attire to be so unorderly, but now that he had changed, he did not care so much anymore.

A simple smile graced her pink face as she returned to her studies.

Every single page she flipped through had nothing, nothing, _nothing_ to do with their blisters.

_Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap. _Her fingers drummed tirelessly on the cedar wood desk.

Hours passed and each book she tried held no answer for her. As she turned the last page of "_Rare Fantastics_", she glared at the last book and finally flipped it open. Hermione groggily read the first page when she felt something gentle touch her head.

She did not turn, but instead closed her eyes as the things she now knew to be hands worked their way down to the band that held her braid together and slowly slid it off.

The hands worked at undoing the braid link by link from underneath. When they were finished, their fingers ran through her hair, creating a pleasurable tingle on her neck.

Hermione tilted her head back slightly and took a deep breath before reaching both arms up and taking Draco's face in her hands. She pulled his mouth down to hers and savored in the delight of his taste and sighed, satisfied.

When they finally pulled apart, both halves were gasping for sweet breath and Hermione forced herself to focus back on the sure-to-be-bogus book.

"I can't figure it out Draco. None of the other books we got said anything familiar to this situation. And I'm _sure_ this one probably won't either!" she exclaimed, hugging the arms that were draped around her shoulders and neck.

He pressed his lips upon the top of her head and kissed her soft brunette locks, then rested his chin where he had kissed. Draco could not help but smirk at her determination (which was only another thing to add to the list of things he loved about the woman sitting in front of him).

"Don't you dare _laugh_ at this situation I'm in Malfoy. This is serious business!" she tried to sound dignified, but her tone betrayed her profusely.

"Okay, okay!" Draco said, putting his hands up in mock surrender. "You can get back to your research and I'll _try _to stay out of your way."

Hermione nodded her head in a way of prevailous gratitude and continued reading.

All the while Draco played with her hair and sent tingles from her neck down her spine, making it excruciatingly hard for her to focus. And though this was the case, she did _not_ complain. On the contrary, she silently begged for more. His touch was always a shockwave of pleasure that she could not ignore.

Seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into hours of studying the great book she had in front of her.

Draco fell back asleep on the floor around her chair and she rolled her eyes

All could have been abandoned by Hermione, and it nearly all was.

But suddenly, she jumped.

"Oh!" she gasped, her breath catching in her throat, turning her wide eyes to Draco.

She shook him awake.

"Draco. Draco look at this. Hurry! Wake up!" there was an urgency in her voice that Draco simply could not ignore. He sat up, wiping the sleep from his eyes, and he stared at the book page, still not seeing anything for he had not completely woken up yet.

"_A Bond Between Souls_ by Athenea Blackwood. It's one of the articles in this book." Hermione's breathing caught in her chest once more as she read the next sentence…

"'_It was once rumoured that there was an ancient bond between two souls that connected them so strongly that blemishes would occur. Any pain—emotional or physical—either of the two halves endured would show up on the others skin. _

"_This bond was rumoured to be first seen 140 BC between Memoria Garingre and Laqueus Mulfanae. It's second sighting was 1040 years later between Hermatia Graquedona and Drachtuss Malfinae. This extraordinary affair has yet to be seen again, but trained wizards are still searching for a true reason behind this._

"_Some believe that the bond follows the reincarnates of the two couples and that this bond links their souls as one, causing each to feel what the other feels and vice versa. If one was to die, then the other would simply be unable to bear it and join their other in blissful death. Some like to argue and say that Shakespeare's _Romeo and Juliet_ was based after this ancient form of magic, others believe it is nothing more than talk. This topic is still argued today between witches and wizards, though most of the population know nothing of this charm…or would we call it a curse?'"_

Draco—now completely awake—turned his head to face Hermione and she did the same. Both stared wide eyed at the other in shock and pure wonderment at this new marvel they faced in front of them.

_A bond? Are we the reincarnates?_ Hermione wondered, astounded by the newly found information.

"How…?" Draco's words hung in his mouth as he returned his eyes to page 823, a number he seemed to vaguely remember from somewhere.

Eight-hundred-and-twenty-three…

_*Preview of Next Chapter*_

_He had dreamed of that number several times, trying to understand why it haunted him._

_Eight-hundred-and-twenty-three. Eight-hundred-and-twenty-three. Eight-hundred-and-twenty-three!_

_None of the cards matched, none of the pieces fit! The blisters simply did not make sense!_

**AGH! Finally done with this chappie! :D I'm so happy! I hope it didn't suck like it probably did… *facepalm***

**Please forgive me for being so late. I hate that I was. And please oh please review. I would be forever grateful. Reviews help me keep going and I am going through a major slump at the moment, so your reviews would be very kind to me. Thanks bunches!**

**I hope you are satisfied with what they have found out…this ones going to be interesting! CLIFF HANGERS!**

**Happy writings**

**Caroline**


	15. 823

**A/N**

**Hello! Here it is! I hope you enjoy it. It took me not too long to write, I just had to take the time to write it.**

**Disclaimer: you know da drill**

**Bon appetite…just don't eat all of it.**

_A man runs through a dense forest, his hair matted with grime and his exposed arms caked with an uneven mixture of blood and dirt. If one were to study him closely, they would be able to detect that at one point he might have been really quite handsome, but his once elegant suit was now a mess of tattered cloth. The tiny patches that stuck out from the grime on his head clued to him having bleach blonde hair and the five-o'-clock shadow that sprouted on his chin added to his rugged appearance. _

_Rain heavily pounds to the ground, drumming its harsh melody as it hits. He is soaked from head to toe and his one naked foot is bloodied and bruised._

"_Eight-hundred and twenty-three days it's been. Eight-hundred and twenty-three." He mutters to himself, insanity clawing its way out through every opening in his body. His pores seep sweat and insanity and had anyone seen him in this sorry state, he surely would be packed and shipped to the nearest asylum as quickly as possible._

_Periodically he turns his head and searches the background behind him as if something were chasing him._

"_Eight-hundred and twenty-three." Whispers he, his pitch increases as his volume decreases._

_Suddenly, he falls to his knees and grips his head, palm to temple with bony fingers clutching his grimy locks. _

"_Eight-hundred and twenty-three!" he shrieks, his eyes enlarging through the scream and he keels over forwards so that his face implants itself into the sticky mud of the forest floor. _

_This man has seen pain. It is evident that he has been broken so many times and before he is allowed to heal, he is broken once more. At one point in his life, his eyes were a clear bluish grey, but now they hold anguish and fear that cloud his vision and block his brain._

"_Eight-hundred and twenty-three times they beat her. Eight-hundred and twenty-three days since I've held her. Eight-hundred and twenty-three miles away from me. Eight-hundred and twenty-three people who wish to see my head on a silver platter." He muttered quite as before, but each sentence became clearer in his mouth and each sentence turned into more of a squeak until his last words were so shrill that they could barely be heard at all._

_He beat his fists on the ground, chanting 'eight-hundred and twenty-three' many times under his breath. Tears sprang from his soft bluish grey eyes and he resorted to keeling over on his side, hugging the mud as if it were his life vest._

_And they came. They came in numbers, holding mutts that bared their teeth and ripped his flesh. They took him away. They hurt him like they hurt her. Blisters do worlds more than just blemish the skin._

* * *

Sweat poured out of the now wakened Draco, thinking of only one thing, or number rather.

He had dreamed of that number several times, trying to understand why it haunted him.

Eight-hundred-and-twenty-three. Eight-hundred-and-twenty-three. Eight-hundred-and-twenty-three!

None of the cards matched, none of the pieces fit! The blisters simply did not make sense!

And then to have this nonsensical and ancient dream about a man whom he had never seen in his life was just absurd! Why was he being persecuted anyway? From what he knew, it didn't seem as if the man had done anything.

"Draco." He heard as a hand reached out to touch his naked chest.

Draco turned his head to meet Hermione's beautiful chocolate brown eyes, filled with concern.

The night before had been wonderfully sensual and Hermione was sure that neither of them could have had any nightmares afterwards, but it seemed that they both had.

She about abandonment and he about Merlin knows what!

Hermione's deflowering had truly been the experience of her lifetime, full of pleasure and ecstasy, and Draco really _is_ the romanticist, taking it slow until she gave the okay, allowing him to thrust faster and faster till they fell asleep, thoroughly exhausted, in each others arms, but was it not supposed to last the whole night?

Apparently it was not.

"Are you alright?" she whispered to him, pulling herself up to press to his chest as a way of comfort.

She felt him nod his head and turned her eyes up to his from her little cavern in the crook of his neck.

"What's got you feeling so low?" she asked, kissing his jaw.

"I am just having trouble understanding all the stuff we read last week." He finally got out, his voice quite hoarse.

Since the first reading, Hermione had studied the words of the book so as not to have missed anything, but it did not haunt her as it did Draco.

Draco let out a sigh and pulled back a bit from Hermione so as to look at her.

A mischievous smirk appeared playfully on his face and he lurched forward to place his lips on hers.

"Last night was wonderful, love. You up for another go?" he murmured, lips still pressed to hers. Her reply was lost in a sea of moans.

* * *

Fully dressed, the couple sat on the large couch that decorated the Malfoy manor's informal living room, exchanging dreams.

Draco told her about his number dreams and then confessed all the erotic dreams he had had about her.

Hermione did much of the same, though her dreams seemed to rely more on abandonment, childhood memories and suffering, but the occasional 'Draco Dream' would slip in ever so often and _she_ confessed that she savored every minute of them.

"How long have you been having these '_Draco Dreams'_" he asked, playfully tapping her nose. Hermione blushed a deep crimson colour.

"The night you sat with me on the beach." She whispered inaudibly.

"What?" he teased.

"The night you sat with me on the beach!" she nearly shouted, becoming even redder, _if _that was possible.

Draco's face mockingly became very serious and solemn as he looked her in the eye.

"Of course I would have that sort affect on you. Especially since I sat _right by you._ Close enough for you to hear my breath. It's only natural that you should feel such things." His tone held no hint of tom foolery, only pure logic, but looking at his face, Hermione could see that he was being cocky.

"Draco: the humblest man on the planet." She replied, rolling her eyes and sticking out her tongue at him as a little child would.

"Precisely."

The two stared at each other for a moment until something in Draco's expression changed.

"I had a dream last night. It was strange and scary and confusing, yet it seemed so familiar." Draco said, lowering his gaze.

Hermione nodded as if to say 'go on' and so he did. He explained to her every detail of his dream and the number that haunted him so terribly every night since the reading, and she just watched and listened, perplexed.

"The first showing of Romeo and Juliet had eight-hundred and twenty-three attendants." She whispered.

"What?"

"The first showing of Romeo and Juliet had eight-hundred and twenty-three attendants. I'm not sure how I know that, but I do."

Draco cocked his head to the side in thought and finally something clicked.

_That's it…!_

_**Preview of Next Chapter**_

_Hermione looked at the miniature clock that sat precariously on her bedside table at the manor. One bump and it would fall off and crash to the floor in a hundred pieces, never to be a whole clock again. _

_She touched her stomach and squirmed. Why did it hurt? _

_Her head started to feel the thrum of a dull throbbing that were the beginnings of a headache, and she longed for relief from that._

_Could she be sick? A stomach bug? But then why was she so ravenous?_

_Only a few hours earlier she was working on understanding the number, but now she felt sick? _

**A/N**

**I hope this chapter was to your liking and not too fluffy. I didn't want it to be too ooey gooey romancey…ee….**

**Soooo, do you have predictions? Review and tell me! I would love to hear them! Sorry for another late update, but school is crazy! And at least it isn't as late as the last chapter! Hope you don't hate me!**

**READ AND REVIEW! I love you all and thank you for staying with me till the end.**

**Have any good ideas you want to see happen with this story? Tell me! I'd love to hear them.**

**Thanks you guys **

**Happy writings**

**Caroline**


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